Madame Giry's Tale
by MargueriteandRoxtonever
Summary: So much happened before Christine and Raoul dropped in. Erik's side of the story is told through the only mother he ever knew, Madame Giry.
1. Baby Brothers and Boarding Schools

Disclaimer: Once again, I don't own any of the original POTO characters. (I'm not THAT talented!)

Summary: So much happened before Christine and Raoul dropped in!

Madame Giry's Tale

I watched the carriage pull away from the opera house. I knew I would probably never see Christine Daae again. I knew she would become a great singer. Her talented was just too beautiful and exquisit to waste. As the horse-drawn carriage pulled out of sight, I walked slowly back into the opera house. The opera house was quiet now. The ballet rats had long gone to bed. Although it was almost dawn, the students would be asleep for hours. It had been a horrifying night. I should have been going to bed myself, but I had other matters to attend to.

I made it to Christine's dressing room. Her flowers that her fans had left her were still there. She had forgotten to take them before she left. No matter, there were so many she would never be able to take them all with her, anyway. I made it over to her mirror. Using all my strength, I managed to open it to reveal the secret passage down to the laybrinth.

I had never been done so far in the laybrinth, but I knew I couldn't just turn back. I couldn't just leave him alone. I felt somewhat responsible for what had happened that night. For one thing, it was I who brought Christine as a new student. But that wasn't even the half of the matter. I remembered the whole story as I walked slowly through the catacombs, heading to Erik's layer.

It was over 40 years ago. How long, I can't percisely remember, but I do know that I was a young girl when it started. A young girl and her younger brother.

I don't even know if my little brother had a first name. When he was born, my mother was very secretive about him. I watched from a crack in my bedroom as the nurses took the little bundle of joy from my parents room in a rush. I was confused. My mother had promised me that I could see my new baby brother or sister as soon as he or she was born. But the nurses never came to get me. I sat at my door all night. None of them came to tell me or my older sister, Bernadette, that a new member was in our family.

The next morning, I ran to my mother's room and knocked on the door. I could hear talking behind it, but my mother and father had always told me it was rude to listen in on other people's conversations. I waited until someone answered, hoping it would be my mother. But no, it was her midwife.

"Can I help you, Mlle. Marguerite?" she asked.

"I wish to see my mother," I replied, calmly. I had not yet attended finishing school, but everyone always commented on how polite I was when I spoke.

"I am sorry, Mlle.," the midwife said, "But the madame is seeing no visitors."

"But she'll she me," I said, "I'm her daughter!"

"Not, today, Mlle.," she said, "Your mother just had a baby. She's very tired. Tomorrow, I promise."

"That's what I want to talk to her about!" I said, "I want to see the baby! Do I have a baby brother or a baby sister?"

"Not now, Mlle.!" the midwife said, and before I could retaliate, she slammed the door in my face.

Naturally, I became angry. The help was not suppose to treat their masters this way. Even a small ballet rat who was only seven. I was furious with the woman. I ran to my room and began to have a tantrum. My nanny tried everything in her power to calm me, but this only made me angrier and so began screaming louder, bringing in Bernadette's nanny. I became so angry, some of the nurses came out to help, but nothing could comfort me. Eventually, I tired myself out and fell asleep.

I didn't wake until late that evening. My nanny was watching me from the corner and my supper had been placed on my little table.

"Why am I not eating in the dinning room with my parents and my sister?" I asked.

"Your mother just gave birth to a child, Mlle. Marguerite," she said, "She is too tired to have the entire family together."

But that didn't seem quite right. Where did my father have his dinner? What bothered me was why Bernadette and I couldn't eat together. When I voiced this opinion, my nanny grew very angry with me. She yelled at me to eat my supper. I did not object this time. I ate my entire plate, hoping that if I was a good girl, I could see my new sibling or my mother. But no. After supper, I was given a bath and then put to bed.

The next morning, I awoke early. My nanny was sleeping in her bed in the next room. I tried to go and see my mother, but my door had been locked. My nanny had even locked her door out into the hall. I would have to wait until after breakfast.

But after breakfast, I was dressed into traveling cloths. This confused me greatly. My nanny packed a bag for herself and one for me. She told me we would be going on a trip.

"I don't want to go on a trip," I cried, very loud and demanding, "I want to see my mother and see my new sibling."

But she did not give in. I was not use to not getting my way.

My nanny brought me down into the foyer. Bernadette and her nanny were standing there as well. Both dressed in traveling cloths and carrying a bag. Bernadette was ten and I usually looked to her for answers.

"Where are we going?" I asked her.

"I don't know!" was all she said and she seemed very upset about it, so I kept my mouth shut.

A cab was waiting for us out front. Our nannies handed the bags to the drivers and all four of us took seats in the back. It was a bit cramped, so I sat on my nanny's lap. Bernadette's nanny told the driver to take us to "La Station Internationale".

I don't remember the train station and I don't remember the train. I had fallen asleep during the taxi ride. When I awoke, we were riding in a different taxi. I remember because the smell was different. The last one had a clean, rich smell in it. This one smelled like old cigars. As I stared out the window, I saw the gates of a large wall be opened by a man dressed in a maroon uniform. The taxi pulled in. The building behind the wall was spectacular. Above the door was a name on a gold plate which read l'Ecole de Mme. Dubois pour les Jeunes Dames. I could not read, but I heard Bernadette say "Mme. Dubois School for Young Ladies".

"You girls will be staying here for a while." Bernadette's nanny said.

"But I thought we were too young to start finishing school!" Bernadette exclaimed.

"This is not finishing school." my nanny said, "This is a regular boarding school and the two of you will be staying here for at least a year."

We didn't dare argue. I wanted to, for I didn't know what boarding school was, but Bernadette's face looked gentle and scared. This must not have been a nice place.

We left the taxi and entered the school. Bernadette's nanny left her in a chair next to me and my nanny. I fell asleep in her lap again. The next thing I remembered was my nanny awaking me in my bed, telling me it was time for her to leave. I didn't understand, but she said she would be back to get me when it was safe to come home. I was too groggy to understand or argue. Once I understood, however, it was too late.

I stayed at that school for a year. A year of torture and hatred. I had been use to getting my way. This place was ludicrious. All I wanted was to see my mother and meet my new sibling. They didn't know the story at all. They continously told me that my mother and sibling were dead and that my father had sent me here to stay until I was ready to begin finishing school. But that made no sense. My mother was perfectly fine when I left and so was my new sibling.

At the end of that horrific year, mine and Bernadette's nanny came for us so that we could go home. I was so thrilled. I had asked all my teachers every single day if I could go home, but they would always say "Not today Mlle. Valery." I was so excited about going home, I stayed awake the whole journey.

We reached my familar mansion at the end of the day. I didn't even wait for my nanny or for Bernadette. I rushed right into our house and up the stairs to find my mother in her bedroom.

"Mamma!" I cried as I ran in, "I have missed you so!"

"My darling, Marguerite!" she said, holding me, "I have missed you greatly, my daughter."

"Where is my new brother or sister, Mamma!" I exclaimed, looking up at her, "I wish to meet him or her. You sent me away before I had the chance to!"

My mother was silent. She had a look of panic and fear on her face. She let me go and turned away from me.

"I am sorry, Marguerite," she said, "But your baby brother...he is dead."

"Dead?" I said, "When did he die?"

"Just after he was born!" she said.

"That's not possible!" I said, "I heard him! I heard him cry all day!"

"He died that night, my love." she said, "I am terribly sorry."

"I really wanted a little brother!" I said, starting to cry.

"As did I want a son, my love." she said, crying as well, "But...what we both wanted is not what occured and I am sorry."

My mother dried her eyes and went down the stairs to greet Bernadette. Not a sound of sadness came from downstairs. How could those woman, one of them my eleven-year-old sister, act so happy when there was a tradgedy to endure? I was so upset, I ran into my room and cried into my pillow.

Our mother did not send us back to the boarding school. Bernadette's regular tutor returned. She would stay at the house until she was 13, when she was ready to begin finishing school. I, however, begged my mother to let me continue studying ballet at the Paris Opera House. She agreed in the end and I was sent to begin my life as a ballerina as a ballet rat.

The years passed by rather quickly. Being a ballet rat was harder than I thought. We were awoken very early to stretch and train, but it was nice being around girls my own age. I wrote to my sister and parents daily. My father died of pneumonia when I was nine. I went to his funeral, the last time I would leave the opera house in my youth. It was when I was 16 that the story of my one greatest friend begins.

"Marguerite!" someone called to me in my sleep, "Marguerite, wake up!"

Slowly, I opened my eyes. It was still nighttime. Through the window that was by my bed, I could see the sky was still inky black. Dawn was far away. Sleepily, I rubbed my eyes and sat up to see who was talking to me.

"What do you want, Sarah?" I asked groggily.

"Shh!" she exclaimed, "Look!"

Sarah pointed out the panes of my closed window. She looked very excited about something. I sat up and kneeled on my bed to see outside. By the light of Sarah's candle, I could see a dozen carriages and wagons driving through the streets.

"What is all this?" I asked, not taking my eyes from the traveling brigade.

"A traveling fair!" Sarah excliamed. It was hard for her to whisper when there was so much excitment in her voice. "You know that Mme. Remy will have to let us go!"

Suddenly, there was the sound of someone walking in the corridor outside the door. "Mme. Remy!" we both whispered. I blew out Sarah's candle and we both jumped back into our beds. Sarah's was right next to mine.

We pretended to be asleep as Mme. Remy poked her head into the room. She watched us for a moment, waiting to see if anyone moved. She shut the door a moment later.

"That was close," Sarah whispered.

"Do you really think Mme. Remy will let the ballerinas go to the fair?" I asked.

"Of course! Once the other girls find out, they'll all want to go, too! Not to mention the boys! I bet you Dimitri would love to go to the fair with a beautiful ballet rat like you."

"Sarah!" I exclaimed, feeling myself blush.

"I want silence in here!" Mme. Remy said, opening the door again.

"Sorry, Mme. Remy," Sarah and I said. We covered our heads with our blankets and tried to go back to sleep.

The last thing I thought of as I went to sleep was of the fair coming into the city, and whether Dimitri Giry would want to go with me. 


	2. The Gypsy Fair

I woke up the next morning with the other girls. We quickly changed into our leotards and tights and went downstairs to begin practicing. We would practice for at least two hours in the morning, then rest for a half an hour, then we would be able to go to breakfast with the boys had finished there training.

As we were stretching at the bar, preparing for class, Mme. Remy walked in with M Lefevre, the manager of the opera house. He had bought the house the year before I began living here, but we had rarely ever seen him. He spent most of his time on stage with the older ballerinas and opera stars. All the girls stopped their stretching as Mme. Remy shut the door. The other girls stood and sat up in the room at attention, awaiting what this surprise could be.

"Girls, pay attention, please!" Mme. Remy called, as if we weren't already, "M. Lefevre is here and he has some exciting news for you."

"Thank you, Mme. Remy," M. Lefevre said. He took off his hat and stood before the girls. "Good morning girls. Well, down to business. As you all know, you're age group is the eldest age group in the opera house who is not preforming on stage yet. It has come time to take your dancing test and decide which of you girls shall continue studying here and which of you girls will be sent home."

"That's nothing new," Yvette said, Mme. Remy's daughter, "We've been having those tests every year and every year four five girls are sent home."

"Well, Mlle. Remy," M. Lefevre said, "There is a bit of a difference this year with your test. You will, indeed, be judged on your dancing on the stage and some of you will, yes, be dismissed from the opera house. However, to those of you who are still here after your final test, you will begin practicing dances for our next opera and will be performing with the older girls there."

Every single girl gasped. The girls sitting stood up in surprise. Everyone started talking about, at long last, performing on stage in a show. It was finally happening. After years of training and practicing, bloody toes and sore muscles, we had our chance of dancing on stage in a real live opera.

"But your last test is different." M. Lefevre continued. All the girls hushed and turned to listen to the manager, "You see, instead of individual dancing, Mme. Remy, along with our most talented ballerinas will be teaching you a dance that all of you will perform together, including the male ballet dancers. this performance will be open to the public."

"The public?" Sarah asked, clutching me for support.

"Oh, the public looks forward to this every year." M. Lefevre replied. "The judges will actually be five people whom have never seen any of you or the boys dance before."

"Wow," Sarah said. She gulped from fear, still clutching my arm.

"I'm sure you girls will do superb." he said, "and I'll be in to check on your progress once a week. Thank you for letting me speak with them, Mme. Remy. Now, if you'll excuse me, I must see Mme. Therin and speak with the boys. I'll leave it up to you to pick the girls who will be helping you."

"Of course, M. Lefevre," she said, "Thank you for stopping by." He left quickly and Mme. Remy shut the door behind him. The girls started chatting excitedly again.

Sarah was still clutching my arm, "You can take your fingernails out of my arm now, Sarah!" I cried.

"Oh, sorry, Marguerite." she said, dropping my arm. I looked down and saw ten marks pressed into my skin. Surprisingly it wasn't bleeding.

"Alright, girls," Mme. Remy said, "This is very exciting news for you all. I know that all of you will try your hardest to make stay at the opera house and to move to next ballet class. We will begin our training in a few days, once Mme. Therin and I have everything planned out. During those days, you girls will be free from training." Everyone was pleased to hear this. A few days to relax and have fun. "But! I expect to see every single one of you in here at least for one hour each day to stretch. Just because you don't have to practice doesn't mean you can't let your body's go. As for today, we will not have practice today. I have just gotten word that a traveling fair of gypsies is in the city. This afternoon, we will be traveling with the boys to see it."

"You were right, Sarah!" I cried, "She is letting us go!"

"And we're going with the boys!" Sarah said.

"You girls are to dress approiately. I will not have any of you disgracing the opera house! We have a reputation to protect. How embarrasing it would be if someone in the city thought we didn't take such pride in our ballet. That is all, you may go to breakfast!"

The girls rushed from the room to make it to the dinning hall. Sarah and myself were very excited. What a wonderful day and we hadn't even eaten breakfast yet.

"Can you believe we'll be preforming on stage in front of a real audience?" I asked.

"With the boys!" Sarah cried.

"Don't you ever think of anything else?" I asked.

"No," she said, "I can't wait! I'm going to become a great ballerina and marry one of the male ballet dancers. Then, I'm going to have two beautiful children, a boy and a girl, who will both become ballerinas, and then I'll take over as guardian."

"For the boys or the girls?" I asked.

"I haven't decided yet!" she said.

I rolled my eyes. Sarah always thought big. I didn't want to crush her dreams, though. Perhaps she was right and that would happen to her, "Which boy are you going to marry?" I asked.

"Oh, don't worry. Dimitri is all yours!" she said.

"Sarah!" I cried, blushing again, "I don't want to marry Dimitri!"

"Yes you do! Whenever you see him, you smile like you're performing for an audience on stage!"

I rolled my eyes again. We entered the dinning room for breakfast.

Later that afternoon, the girls dressed in some of their finest dresses and outdoor dress shoes. Mme. Remy insisted each of us wear a cloak. We exited the opera house to a cloudy sky.

"I do hope it doesn't rain!" Mme. Therin said as she and the boys left through the other doors. Sarah and I giggled when we saw them.

We began walking down the street. The sound of a violin was heard. A moment later, a boy came into view. He was a view years older than me, but I had talked to him often. Sebastien Daae was a poor boy who played the violin better than I had ever heard before. He would sometimes come into the opera house and visit when us girls would be playing around on the empty stage.

"Hello, Sebastien!" I cried as he came into view.

"Marguerite! I thought I'd see you today, what with this fair and all!" he said. He stood and gave me a hug. I felt so bad for Sebastien. He played such beautiful music, but not one person in town would hire him to play because he was a poor orphan boy.

"Have you been to the fair, Sebastien?" Sarah asked.

"Not yet, although I've heard talk about it." he said.

"From whom?" we asked excitedly, taking no noticing of the rest of the girls passing us by.

"People passing by the opera house. I plan on going there later tonight. There's this great attraction there I can't wait to see. Have you heard about... The Devil's Child?"

"The what?" Sarah asked.

"No, we haven't!" I declared, "Who's the Devil's Child?"

"Let's move it along girls!" Mme. Remy said, "Hello, M. Daae," She dropped a coin in Sebastien's hat. "Come along girls! We must be home by dinner!"

"I'll see you ladies at the fair, later!" Sebastien called, sitting back down.

"Bye, Sebastien!" I called, waving and turning to leave.

Mme. Remy remained walking behind us until she saw two of the little girls running in the street. "Amandine and Genevieve! Get back in line now!" She decided to stay with the younger girls to keep them from running off.

Sarah and I looked around the wonderous city as we walked. It wasn't often we got to leave during the day. The only part of the city we ever really saw was what we could see through the windows. I didn't even notice that someone was walking behind us after a moment.

"Hello, Marguerite," he said.

Startled, I turned to see who was talking to me. To my delight and horror, it was Dimitri Giry. As much as I always denied it from Sarah and the other girls, I did have feelings for him, but I would never admit it, not even to myself.

"Hello, Dimitri," I said, quietly. I could feel my face turning red. Sarah smiled at me and then looked away. I was extremely greatful she didn't say anything embarrasing. She was famous in the opera house for that.

"Are you excited about the fair?" he asked. He smiled with his perfect teeth. They matched his gorgeous light brown eyes.

"Yeah, I've never been to a gypsy fair before," I said, trying to sound interesting and intelligent at the same time. It was hard, though. My mind was growing foggy. "Neither of us have."

"Can you believe that it's almost time for our final test?" Dimitri said.

"I know! I've been waiting for this for so long!" I replied. I worked up my courage to try and say a compliment. "I hope you're chosen to stay."

"I hope you get to stay as well," Dimitri answered, "The opera house wouldn't be the same without you."

Before either could say another word, Dimitri left to walk with a group of boys a bit further ahead of them. Once he was out of earshot, Sarah squealed with delight.

"Oh, Marguerite!" she exclaimed quietly, "He is so smitten about you."

"He is not, Sarah!" I replied.

"Oh please! 'The opera house wouldn't be the same without you.'? He obviously fancies you. And you're taken by him, too."

"No, I'm not!" I said, "Besides, even if I was and even if he was, what can we do? We're not allowed to leave to opera house without permission. There's no way we could court."

"Well, no," Sarah replied, "But I have a plan."

"Oh, and I what's that?" I asked, not really wanting to hear the answer. Sarah's plans never worked out very well.

"We're going to spend the next few months together training with the boys, correct?" she asked.

"Correct," I replied.

"And there will be times when we'll have some free time to talk, true?" she asked.

"True," I said.

"Well, my plan is, if you two try to get to know each other a little better now and then you both are chosen for the ballet at the end of the season when we have our test, then you'll be living in the adult dormitories and have more privileges. You'll have curfews and allowances to leave the opera house, allowing you to court. Once you two are close friends, you it will more comfortable to start courting and then you'll fall in love and live happily ever after."

"Sarah," I said, "What a strange world you live in."

Ten minutes later, we made it to the fair. There was music and people for miles. Not only townspeople from the city, but gypsies, too. I had never seen anything quite like them. They were dressed so exotically, with fabric's I had only seen on costumes in operas we had attended. Some of them were acrobats and could bend their bodies in almost every postion imaginable. We past by a man who was breathing actual fire. We past by, what at first looked like an ordinary man in dress, but as I got a closer look, I saw it was a bearded lady.

"Do you think that beard's real?" Dimitri asked as I caught up to him near the woman.

"It could be," I said, "I wouldn't know, though, I'm not a gypsy."

The three of us wondered around the fair together. We didn't dare break off from the rest of the group, even though we were sure Mme. Remy or Mme. Therin wouldn't notice. We didn't want to get lost and then kidnapped by the gypsies. As I passed by a fortune teller, I remembered the stories my nanny use to tell me about how gypsies would kidnap children and turn them into freaks just like them.

"Come in!" a large, older man called near a tent, "Come and see the Devil's Child."

"That's what Sebastien was telling us about!" Sarah squealed as we came closer.

"Who was talking about what?" Dimitri asked.

"My friend, Sebastien Daae," I said, turning towards Dimitri, "He was telling us about this devil child that was here that he heard about. He hasn't seen him yet, though. I wonder what he looks like."

Slowly, Sarah, Dimitri, and I entered the tent that the man was beconing us into with Devil's Child painted over the door. We entered through it with the other ballerinas and looked around. There was much inside. A stool stood outside of a large cage with straw all over the floor. But inside the cage sat a small creature with a burlap sack over his head holding a monkey doll.

"Who is that?" Dimitri asked. "Is that suppose to be the devil's child?"

Slowly, everyone made it into the cage. Most of the ballet rats were too frightened to go up to the bars. Even Dimitri and Sarah were a bit skiddish. But I was curious as to what this creature was, so I stepped forward right up to the bars of the cage. I grabbed them with my hands, trying to get a closer look.

There was nothing about this child that showed anything evil about him. He, well, it seemed like a he, was a boy under ten-years-old. The only clothing he wore, other than the sack, was a pair of dirty, ripped pants that were much too short for him. He looked very thin and underfed, his ribs showing so vividly through his skin. He was extremely dirty and bloody. The smell around him was so horrific, it almost made me want to throw up. I doubted this boy had ever had a bath nor a good meal to eat.

The man who had invited us in came into the tent. He went over to the cage door, unlocked it, and walked inside. He grabbed the poor boy by his brittle-looking arm and pulled him over to him, knocking the monkey doll from his hands. The next site made me feel even more sick than the smell of the tent. He pulled out a leather strap and beat him across his stomach, causing him to bleed. I wanted to cry out, to try and stop this evil man from hurting this little boy, but I was in such utter shock, my voice wouldn't work. He then reached down and pulled the sack off the boy. The little child hung his head, but the man grabbed his hair and made him look at us.

I could feel my stomach fall out of my body. My face turned away from the wretched appearance. I had never seen such an appalling, disturbing site. Half of the boy's face was deformed and mutilated beyond anything in this world. No wonder they called the boy the devil's child. A face like that could drive anyone insane. It looked like an evil demon in human form.

But there was one thing, one feature about this boy that told me he wasn't evil. As I forced myself to look at his face again, I fell upon the gentle, sorrowful beauty of his baby blue eyes. There were like an angel's eyes, full of good and adoration, and all the sadness of the world. I felt so terrible for actually thinking the boy was such a wicked beast.

A moment later, the little boy pulled the sack back over his face. The girls and boys started to turn and leave the tent, throughing a few coins into the cage for the boy's caretaker. I looked tearfully up at the man, the truely only evil person in this room. I didn't want to leave this poor being, but I felt someone tugging on my arm.

"Come on, Marguerite," Dimitri was saying, "We should leave now, more people are going to want to see this thing."

I didn't reply, but let him pull me away from the cage. Had just made it out of the tent when we heard screaming and gasping for breath. We rushed back inside to see what the terrifying commotion was. My fear was that the caretaker was hurting the boy again, but it quite the contrary.

The boy had taken the caretaker's leather strap and wrapped it around the caretaker's neck. For such a weak boy, he was strong enough to cut off the man's oxygen until he fell, lifeless in the cage. I screamed when I saw the dead man fall to the ground. The boy picked up his monkey doll and looked up at Dimitri and me.

"He killed him," Dimitri said, fear and shock on his face.

My scream had alerted people outside that something was wrong in the tent. I started walking towards the boy, but Dimitri grabbed my arm.

"Are you insane, Marguerite?" he asked, "That boy is dangerous!"

But I didn't listen, I walked right over to the boy and offered my hand to him. I couldn't see his eyes through the two small holes he had to see through, but he could see me. He examened my hand for a moment, then slowly took it. I helped him from the cage.

Dimitri checked outside. A few of the gypsies were alerting the police that were there and they were running towards the tent. "Marguerite, we have leave now! It's not safe!"

"We can't leave him!" I cried, "The police won't understand. They'll kill him!"

"But if they find us here, they'll think we did! We'll be kicked out of the opera house!"

"Dimitri, I won't leave him! We'll take him with us!"

Dimitri didn't say anything, he check outside. The police would be inside any moment.

"Please Dimitri!" I said.

Dimitri took a deep breath and ran to the back of the tent. He quickly grabbed the bottom and ripped the weak fabric large enough for us. As the police ran in, Dimitri allowed for the boy and me to sneak out first with him right behind us. They didn't follow us through the hole, but back out the other way. We ran through the fair, dodging townspeople and gypsies, fearful that Mme. Remy or Mme. Therin would be right around the corner. 


	3. Underneath the Opera House

"What if one of the rats or one of the Madames sees us?" Dimitri cried.

I didn't answer. I had a stitch in my side and I was running out of breath, but I didn't stop. The boy hang onto my hand for dear life. It was hard for him to keep up with us. He tripped over the rope of a tent and we stopped to help him up. We took off again. Finally, we made it to the street. We ran out of site into the shadows, twilight basking the town in darkness.

We knew that the police were still searching for us. We ran through the city and down an alley way, ducking out of site. We sat to rest for a minute, our breath creating steam and sweat running down our faces.

I sat down on a dirty doorstep of an old apartment building. I leaned my head against the brick wall and closed my eyes for a second. I opened them as the little boy sat next to me, staring up at me. I looked over the rest of his body and saw he had scrapped his knee when he fell.

"Are you both alright?" Dimitri asked as he leaned against the wall.

"He's hurt," I said, "Look, he's bleeding."

"Marguerite, I don't think you thought this through completely." Dimitri said.

"Of course not, but I didn't have time to think it through. Those police were going to kill him." I said. I pulled off one of my gloves. I place it on the boy's knee trying to clot the blood.

"If the police weren't coming, though, would you still have taken him?" he asked.

I thought for a moment, "Yes, the idea had started to accure to me. I probably would have brought him to Mme. Remy."

"What are we going to do with him?" Dimitri asked. "We can't just set him free, even if he wasn't a wanted murderer."

"Dimitri!" I exclaimed. I wasn't sure if the boy could speak French, but still, I didn't want anyone insulting him.

"Sorry," he said, "But, people are going to be cruel to him. Besides, the police are looking for him. Where are we going to hide him?"

"We can't take him to Mme. Remy now," I said, "She'll turn him in."

"So will Mme. Therin." Dimitri agreed.

I turned my glove over to use the clean side. The boy was watching us, looking from me to Dimitri rather curiously. "We have to put him in a place where no one will find him, yet I can still watch over and take care of him."

"You?" he asked.

"Of course me, no one else will do it!" I cried. "You really think he'll be treated well in an orphanage?"

"No, I ment... am I not going to help you take care of him?" he asked.

I looked up at him in surprise. I could only smile. Suddenly, we heard the sound of people calling.

"It's the police!" Dimitri said, "We have to get him to safety. But where?"

"What about the opera house?" I asked.

"The opera house?" he asked, "You really think he'll be safe there?"

"There are plenty of places to hide in the opera house! Come on, before they find us!"

I removed my glove from the boy's knee and stood up. He followed suit and we started walking through the alley.

"There they are!" a policemen cried at the other end. Dimitri and I turned and looked. We took off running again.

Five minutes later, we made it to the opera house. The only person in view was Sebastien, reading his bible. He looked up when he saw us coming. Puzzled, he stood to greet us.

"Good gracious, Marguerite!" he cried, "What is this?"

"There's no time to explain!" I said, having been struck by a sudden idea. "But we need your help. Do you know how to get into the basement of the opera house from out here?"

"Of course I do!" Sebastien said, "Come on!"

He took my other hand and led me around the opera house. Luckily, there were no police men in site. On the side of the house was one of the windows into the chapel, he opened the window and allowed me to climb inside. I dusted off my dress and turned around.

"Come on," I said to the frightened little boy, "No one's going to hurt you here."

I reached out my arms to him so I could help him. Whether he understood me or got the hint from my arms, I wasn't sure, but he climbed through the window just the same. I lifted his extremely light body down into the chapel. We stood to the side as Dimitri climbed in and then Sebastien. Sebastien shut the windows and latched them. He lit a few of the unused candles and handed one each to Dimitri and me. We started moving through the chapel and towards the basement.

"So, Marguerite, who exactly is this?" Sebastien asked.

"Well..." I said, "Do you remember when you... told Sarah and me about... the Devil's Child?"

"Yes," Sebastien said.

He looked over at me and I smiled guiltily. Sebastien looked shocked.

"Oh no, Marguerite! You didn't!" he cried.

"I'm sorry!" I said, "But, the poor thing was so helpless and he was beaten and starving! I couldn't just leave him."

"It wouldn't have been as tiring for us to get here, either, if they child hadn't killed his caretaker." Dimitri said.

"He killed his caretaker?" Sebastien asked. I nodded. "Marguerite, what was going through your head when you did this."

"Sebastien look at him! He's starving and weak! I don't think he would have lasted much longer with those calamitous people if we hadn't saved him! They treat him like he's something evil!"

"Marguerite, the child is called the Devil's Child! He's suppose to be evil!" Sebastien exclaimed.

"But he's not!" I yelled.

"Not that I want to interrupt your friendly conversation," Dimitri said, "But where exactly are we going?"

"There's a hidden room in the basement where I sleep." Sebastien said, "I have some food and water down there, too."

About ten minutes later, we made it down into the basement. Sebastien walked over to what looked like a solid wall and pushed aside a camoflauge door. He lit the five candles sitting in a iron candle holder. I looked around this room. It was stuffy and a bit dirty, but much more sanitary than the cage and the tent was. I brought the boy inside and set him down on the bed.

"But wait, where are you going to sleep?" I asked as I removed my other glove and set them both on the bed.

"I'll sleep on the floor in the next room. I have a few extra blankets." Sebastien replied.

"Are you sure?" I asked.

"Yeah, he needs it more than I do." he replied. "In the mean time, I'll give him something to eat. You two better get back to the fair before Mme. Remy finds out it's you two who stole the child."

"We didn't steal him, we rescued him." I corrected. I was about to leave, but the boy wouldn't let go of my hand. I bent down to talk to him.

"Do you understand French?" I asked him. He nodded, not speaking. I wondered if he could speak. "I have to go with him, now, ok? But I promise I'll come back very soon. I'll get you all cleaned up and I'll bring you fresh cloths, ok?"

The boy seemed to be thinking for a moment. Slowly he nodded. Marguerite smiled, "In the meantime, this is Sebastien. He's going to get you some food, ok?"

He nodded again. I stood up and he let go of my hand. I noticed he was trembling. "Take care of him," I said to Sebastien.

"I will. Hurry back." he replied.

Dimitri and I left the room and the opera house as quickly as we could. Running through alleys and deserted streets we made it back to the fair where everyone was looking for the devil's child. Thankfully, no one recognized either of us as the two who had kidnapped him. Without the child with us, it was probably hard to realize. We saw a few of the ballet rats walking with Mme. Therin. We rushed over to them and blended in as best we could. The group eventually ran into Mme. Remy and we caught up with Sarah.

"There you two are!" Sarah cried, rushing over to us. "I couldn't find you. Did you hear what happened?"

"No, no one will give us a straight answer." Dimitri said quickly. "What happened?"

"Well, right after we left the Devil's Child tent, two people, a couple it looks like, went in, killed the caretaker and kidnapped that hideous beast."

"He's not a hideous beast!" I cried.

Sarah suddenly had a look of pity on her face and put her arm around me. "I know it was scary, Marguerite dear, but you must not let it affect you. It was enough to make anyone disturbed."

I looked at Sarah with a look of pure, utter loathing. How in the world could my best friend be so cruel to that pitiful little boy? Dimitri took my hand and pulled me away from Sarah. He must have known what I was thinking because we stayed like that until we reached home.

After we made it back to the house, we ate dinner in the dinning room. I snuck as much food as I could into my cloak, which I had removed and bundled up in ball, however improper it was. After dinner, we were all sent off to bed. I waited until Mme. Remy came for lights out and until all the sounds were quite in the bedroom. Then, I reached under my bed, grabbed my bundle of food, and slipped out of the bed heading for the basement. 


	4. Midnight Supper

(Ok, just a little update before we get started here. The next chapter might take a few days to load up cause I haven't typed it up yet. I have written down, but it's just not saved into my computer. It'll take me a bit because my job and school keep me pretty occupied and my evil mother with her exsisting, they keep my off the computer a lot. But, I'll post back as soon as I can! By the way, TheQueenSarah, thanks for your great reviews! You're a great critic! But I have quesiton, what makes you think Christine isn't going to be in this story?)

Lighting a candle I had gotten from the chapel, I made my way to the basement. It was much harder to find my way this time. I had only gone there once when I was a child and that was only because I had gotten lost. I found the hidden door, but I couldn't figure out how to open it. I knocked and a moment later Sebastien opened it.

"How is he?" I asked.

"He's terrified." Sebastien replied, quickly leading me inside and shutting the door, "When you left, he sat in that corner and hasn't moved since. I gave him food, but he won't eat it. I tried taking that sack off his face to give him water, but everytime I did he kicked me."

"Alright, I'll feed him. I brought some more food, anyway." I said. I set my bundle on the bed. "I need you to grab one of the buckets down here and get me some warm water. Warm, not cold, not hot, and a couple of clean towels. Oh, and some clean cloths for him to wear."

"Where am I going to get all that?" Sebastien asked.

"Check the laundry room a floor above the chapel." I said. "Besides, I think he's scared of you."

"Be careful, Marguerite!" Sebastien said, "I don't trust him. I think he's dangerous."

"Go!" I cried.

Sebastien left the room, closing the door behind him. I picked up the bundle of food and walked over to where the dirty boy sat next to Sebastien's bucket of cold drinking water. I sat next to the boy and opened up my cloak. I picked up a piece of bread and offered it to him. He simply stared at it.

"Go ahead, it's food." I said. He still didn't take it. "You must be hungry. There's plenty here for you."

Slowly, he reached out his hand and gently took the bread from my hands. He wouldn't remove his sack, but slipped the food inside it so he could eat. He ate quickly. I had been right, he was ravenous. When he finished the rest of the bread, I could tell he was looking at the rest of the food in the cloak.

"Go on," I said, "It's all for you."

He reached out and took the slices of apple I had. As he began eating, I walked over to the bed to grab my two gloves. The one was bloodstained and the other was clean. I dipped the clean glove into the bucket of water to wet it. It was useless to me now. I wrung it out and wipped the dry blood off of the scrap the poor boy had on his knee. He still didn't say a word.

A while later, Sebastien came back with the things I had asked for. "Thank you," I said, taking it from him. "You can go to bed now."

"Are you sure?" he asked.

"I'll be fine!" I said, "The poor thing isn't going to hurt me. He's frightened is all."

Sebastien eyed him nervously. "I'll be in the next room. If you need anything, just holler."

I rolled my eyes. "Good night, Sebastien!" I cried, shutting the door behind him. I sat down next to the boy again, watching him as he ate. He didn't stop until the entire cloak was free of food.

"Did you eat enough?" I asked him. He nodded. "Are you sure? I could go and get you some more if you want some. Do you?"

He shook his head no. "Ok," I said, "Come on, let's get you cleaned up."

I picked him up and carried him across the room. I took off the filthy clothing he was wearing, which was dirty and bloody, and tossed it aside. He sat down on the floor as I wet one of the towels and began to wash off all the filth that was on him, which wasn't an easy job. But, I could tell as I gave him his bath, he was beginning to trust me.

I knew, however, that I needed to wash his face. It didn't seem right to just remove the burlap sack from his face, so I placed my hands on his now clean shoulders and asked him.

"I want to wash your face, too." I said, "Can I take this sack off?"

He shook his head violently. I knew this wouldn't be easy.

"I promise, I won't say anything about your face."

Still, he shook his head. He gripped the bottom of the sack with his hands. I took his hands in mine. Now I had an understanding of how my nanny felt when I gave her a hard time.

"Please," I asked, "I just want to help you."

He thought for a moment. At first, I thought it was a lost cause, but slowly he nodded. I placed my hands on the bottom of the sack and carefully pulled it off of his head.

The first time I had seen his face that day, it was as if I had been kicked in the stomach. This time, since I had already seen it, I made no reaction to it. I looked into his beautiful blue eyes and smiled. "That's better, isn't it. I bet you can see better now."

As I looked at him, I noticed he had streaks of tears on his face. I wet the towel again and began washing off the dirt and blood. As the mud began to wash away, he looked much more calm and peaceful. He didn't seem as afraid anymore.

Once he was completely clean, I brought over the dry towel and dried him off. His skin was a milky white color, having rarely seen sunlight I imagined. I brought over the trousers and shirt that Sebastien had brought us and dressed him. When I had finished, I looked him over. "Look at you!" I said, "You're so handsome now that we got all that filth off of you."

He said nothing to me. He looked at me with his deformed face and grief-stricken eyes. I took him in my arms and held him. He rested his head on my shoulders. "It's alright," I said, "You're safe here, now. No one is going to hurt you. And you will never have to see those evil gypsies again.

I lifted him onto my lap and rocked him gently. He wrapped his arms, hugging me. He fell asleep after a while. I stood up, carrying him. I laid him down in the bed and pulled the covers over him. I sat down on the edge of the bed and watched him sleep for a while.

"I never knew what great maternal instincts you had." someone behind me whispered.

I turned and found Dimitri, in his nightcloths, standing in the door way. He set his candle holder down and walked over to me. "I thought I might find you down here," he said, "How did you get him to take the sack off?"

"He trusts me," I whispered.

"He doesn't look so terrifying now that he's clean." he said.

"He doesn't look terrifying at all, Dimitri!" I corrected.

"Why are you so protective of him?" Dimitri asked, placing a hand on my shoulder.

"I don't know," I said, "Maybe it's because... well, I always wanted a little brother and mine died when he was just a day old."

"What are we going to do with him?" he asked.

"We?" I asked.

"Of course we," he said, "You can't do this alone, Marguerite."

We moved off the bed and sat on the floor together. As Dimitri sat, he picked up the little monkey doll that had been left on the floor. "What's this?" he asked.

"This is his," I said. I placed it in the little boy's arms as he slept. "Remember, he brought it with him."

I rested my head on Dimitri's shoulder. I was rather tried, "Well, my plan is we'll keep him down here until the gypsies are gone. Then... we'll think of something a little more permanent."

"Like where?" Dimitri asked. "The orphanage won't take him and the opera house won't let him stay here."

"Not knowingly anyway." I said.

"What do you mean by that?" he asked.

"We could keep him here! In the opera house," I answered, "He'll be safe here. I'll take care of him. Will you help me?"

Dimitri took a deep breath, "Of course I will."

I smiled a small grin. I closed my eyes and before I knew it, I was asleep. 


End file.
